In such machine tools, the tools remain in the same magazine both during storage and during use so that tool-changing equipment is not therefor needed.
A machine tool of the above-specified kind has already been described in which the tool magazine is a drum (German published Patent Specn No. 1,302,431). The tool is conveyed from its storage position into a working position by rotation of the drum. For this purpose the magazine itself must be indexed into a number of working positions which correspond to the number of tools in the magazine and this necessitates the provision of a relatively complicated selective indexing and control system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine tool of the above-specified kind which comprises a simple and rapidly working system of control for conveying the tools into working as reference position.
According to the invention, this is achieved by disposing the tools in the magazine as in a matrix in a system of columns and rows and by adapting the magazine to be traversed in the direction of the columns and rows into a number of positions corresponding to the number of columns and rows. The tool spindles may be horizontal or vertical or they may be mounted in any desired intermediate position.
If there are n rows and m columns, the magazine must be capable of being stepped n - 1 times in the direction of the rows and m - 1 times in the direction of the columns to enable any one of the tools to be conveyed into a predetermined working or reference position. In other words, assuming that nine tools are disposed in three rows and three columns, then only two steps of the magazine each in the direction of the rows and of the columns will be sufficient to move any one of the nine tools into working position. In the case of 16 tools, three steps will be sufficient, in the case of 25 tools, four steps in the direction each of the rows and columns.
According to another feature of the invention, the tool magazine may be adapted, apart from performing the traversing steps in the rows and columns, to feed in the axial direction of the tool spindle, and the relatively perpendicular feeding or adjusting movements may be performed by the work table.
According to yet another feature of the invention, means are provided enabling the tools in working position to be advanced axially into an active position from an inactive position in which they are retracted well into the magazine. The tool in active working position will thus be well clear of the other tools in the magazine.
In one embodiment of the invention the tool traversing movements of the tool magazine are imparted thereto by hydraulic stepping pistons or like means.